Eduardo Romero was studying computer science at the Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado (UCLA) in Venezuela when nationwide protests broke out against the government, many of which often ended in violent conflict. The university closed, and he decided to leave his home in Barquisimeto to study elsewhere.
“I had the army shoot at my house, I had friends who were kidnapped, we would protest with flags and sing in the street, and then they would bring the war tanks,” Romero said. “And I was like, ‘Okay, I need out.’”
He came to Columbia in the summer of 2014, and started at USC in the spring of 2015 as an international student. He soon realized, however, that he would not be able to afford international tuition, and asked for advice on where to apply to scholarships. The Honors College could not tell him where to find one, but found room in their budget to give him the opportunity to stay at USC.
“The Honors College decided to give me a scholarship that allowed me to pay for school. I got a job there, and they funded most of my studies,” Romero said. “And really, even after I was a permanent resident of the U.S. ... I wouldn’t have considered going anywhere else.”
Romero worked as a student assistant for Thomas Holmes, the director of information technology, and remained in that position for the entirety of his undergraduate career.
“When I think about him I think about what it takes to really succeed from a very adverse background. He really defines what it takes to be successful in trying to go after your dreams,” Holmes said. “And then at the same time he does it with a smile.”
Romero graduated from USC in May 2018 with a degree in computer science, and has since received the GEM Consortium Fellowship (National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc.), an honor that included an internship at Adobe this past summer and will fund his Ph.D. studies at the Ohio State University.
“I was this little kid that came from a third-world country that suddenly was exposed to all of this and I really liked it,” Romero said.
Holmes was elated when he heard that Romero won the GEM Fellowship and emphasized how hard Romero worked to get where he is today.
“He’s always willing to do the little things that ... separate him from his peers,” Holmes said. “He just came in driven every day.”
Romero is thankful to everyone who helped him throughout his undergraduate career, and looks forward to the next four to six years at Ohio State University.
His achievements are a source of pride for his professors at USC, like Duncan Buell.
“He’s really smart ... he thinks, he analyzes things really well,” he said. “He’s one of our success stories.”